Field
The disclosed concept relates generally to meter centers. The disclosed concept also relates to socket assemblies for meter centers. The disclosed concept further relates to methods of assembling socket assemblies for meter centers.
Background
Meter centers including a number of watt-hour meters are commonly used for metering electric power delivered to the tenant(s) of a residence (e.g., without limitation, a single family home; an apartment building) or commercial site (e.g., without limitation, an office complex).
A typical electrical meter center 1 is illustrated in FIG. 1. The meter center 1 includes a cabinet 3 having a plurality of meter socket assemblies 5 (only one is shown in FIG. 1) and a plurality of meters 11. Each socket assembly 5 includes a base member 7, to which various components of the socket assembly 5 are secured. Electrical power is supplied to the meter center 1 by a number of feeder buses 9. The feeder buses 9, which typically consist of three phase buses and a neutral that are electrically connected to the utility lines (not shown), extend horizontally from the cabinet 3, as shown in FIG. 1. A pair of vertical supply buses (not shown) is electrically connected to the feeder buses 9 within the cabinet 3. Each socket assembly 5 mounts a corresponding one of the meters 11 for each tenant circuit and electrically connects the meter 11 to the feeder buses 9 and the supply buses (not shown). Typically, the electrical connections between the meter 11 and the socket assembly 5 are made by plug-in jaws 17 of the socket assembly 5, which engage corresponding stabs 19 of the meter 11. The use of the plug-in jaws 17 within the socket assembly 5, and corresponding stabs 19 on the back of the meter 11, permits the meter 11 to be removed from the socket assembly 5 when servicing the meter 11 is desired.
A significant problem with known socket assemblies is that the plug-in jaws are often dislodged from the respective base members during use. More specifically, installation and/or removal of the meters often results in the jaws being pushed or pulled through the base members. A known approach to address this problem includes incorporating separate fasteners to secure the jaws to the base member. However, this approach is labor intensive and is difficult to automate. Another approach is to include small projections in the base member which extend into corresponding openings in the jaws in order to secure the jaws to the base members. A significant drawback of this approach is that the projections are often sheared off of the base member when the meters are installed and/or removed.
There is thus room for improvement in meter centers, and in socket assemblies and methods of assembling socket assemblies therefor.